Author: Pilot Officer Arthur Donahue
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1782893407
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Get Book Here

Book Description
Includes 8 Illustrations of the author, his unit and the aircraft they flew. The Immortal speech of Winston Churchill to Parliament in 1940 as the Battle of Britain raged above the skies of England is well-known: "The gratitude of every home in our island, in our Empire and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen, who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” However not all of the pilots that flew in the Battle of Britain were actually British; many came from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa or nations overrun by the Nazis; Poles, Czechs. So direly needed was every pilot that a blind eye was turned on the nationality of the applicant for Fighter Command; one such man was Arthur ‘Art’ Donahue, an American hailing from the corn fields of Minnesota. Donahue was a humble and unprepossessing man, but despite his self-effacing nature his bravery in joining “The Few” during their time of greatest need is a testament to his keen sense of justice. Having been a pilot for some years before joining he was almost immediately thrown into the frontline fighting and in short order downed a BF 109, the “ratlike” Messerschmitt that hunted the skies. His luck did not hold for long in the frenzied fighting in the skies as he was shot down and badly burnt facially. Amazingly he decided after a brief recuperation to get “back in the saddle” and was flying again with 64 Squadron in the melee in the air. His recounts his experiences with wit, humility and frank honesty; a valuable historical memoir of one of the famous airmen that saved Britain, it is all the more poignant as two years later he was shot down over the English Channel and his body was never recovered. An exciting, vivid memoir of the greatest air conflict of history.

Author: Arthur Gerald Donahue
Publisher: New York, The Macmillan Company
ISBN:
Category : Air pilots
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
An account of the author's experiences in the R.A.F. during 1940-41.

Author: Flt. Lt. Arthur G. Donahue DFC
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786257505
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277

Get Book Here

Book Description
Includes 20 illustrations. Arthur “Art” Gerald Donahue, a native of Minnesota, bravely entered the fray of the Second World War as volunteer pilot in the Royal Air Force by falsely claiming to be a Canadian in 1940. He was already an experienced pilot before he took off in his Spitfire in 64 Squadron based at RAF Kenley, and then 71 Squadron. His experiences and victories during the Battle of Britain are recounted in his first book “Yankee In A Spitfire” but suffice it to say he flew with great skill and courage as one of the “Few”. After a period of brief leave in America he was transferred to the Far East with 258 Squadron, a part of the belated effort to reinforce Singapore. In this book he recounts his adventures in the air over Singapore and Sumatra in the chaotic fighting that saw the British troops routed by a brilliant offensive by the Japanese. Surviving the overwhelming odds in the air, the author managed to escape back to England via India; but was listed as missing in action in 1942. “Donahue makes no attempt either to dramatize or underplay his experiences. He tells them in a simple, unvarnished manner, much as if he were sitting down with some friends back home. The result is pretty close to what the real thing must have been.”—New York Times

Author: Arthur Donahue
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781700255402
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
-'Realistic... vivid... what it is like to be under fire four miles up in the sky' NEW YORK TIMES. -First published in 1941, Arthur Donahue was forced to use pseudonyms for his fellow fighter pilots by the wartime censor, this new illustrated edition published by Spitfire Publishers in October 2019 reveals their real names for the first time. -An exceptional memoir by a Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot who shot down three enemy aircraft. -Includes a newly written introduction, glossary and set of biographies of Donahue's fellow pilots and their fate written by historian Jonathan Reeve author of BATTLE OF BRITAIN VOICES ('A valuable contribution' BBC WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE MAGAZINE). Based on diaries written between sorties during the Battle of Britain, American 'Art' Donahue's fighter pilot memoir is an outstanding true story. In June 1940 he was living on his parents' dairy farm in rural Minnesota. Already a trained pilot, he heard the RAF needed pilots and believing the war against Nazism was also America's fight, he travelled to England risking jail and the loss of his citizenship for breaking US neutrality laws. By the end of July he was flying Spitfires with 64 Squadron in the skies over South East England - the white heat of the Battle of Britain. Art endured a relentless summer and autumn of dawn patrols. He survived dogfights and the harrowing experience of being shot out of the sky by a Messerschmitt 109 - canon shells and machine-gun rounds hammering the back of his armour-plated seat. He would personally account for three enemy aircraft destroyed.ABOUT THE AUTHORArthur 'Art' Donahue was born in St Charles, Minnesota on 29 January 1913. Fascinated by flying from an early age he gained his pilot's license at 19. In 1940 he heard that pilots were being enlisted in Canada for the RAF. He travelled to Canada and, claiming to be Canadian, was accepted and ten days later sailed for Great Britain. Six days after landing he was in England on an accelerated RAF training scheme for urgently needed pilots to replace those being lost in the early stages of the Battle of Britain. He joined 64 Squadron on 3 August 1940 flying Spitfires. Art was now part of a very small band of Americans who ignored their country's neutral status to join the fight against Hitler in the Battle of Britain. He wrote up TALLY-HO! in the early summer of 1941 and it was published in America in August 1941. A British edition followed in 1942. Art was killed in action on 11 September 1942 attempting to intercept a Junkers Ju 88 off Ostend. His Spitfire was hit by return fire and he ditched in the Channel. His body was never recovered, he was 29.PRAISE FOR TALLY-HO!'Realistic... vivid... what it is like to be under fire four miles up in the sky' NEW YORK TIMES'A thrilling firsthand account' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT'At last a Spitfire pilot's own story... a thrilling story' THE SUNDAY MIRROR'Delightfully told' THE OBSERVER'A record of historical value... an absorbing story' THE BIRMINGHAM POSTABOUT THE EDITORJonathan Reeve has been a history book publisher for twenty years and has been responsible for publishing several memoirs by Battle of Britain fighter pilots including SCRAMBLE! by Tom Neil ('Enthralling' THE DAILY MAIL), SPITFIRE PILOT by Roger Hall ('No-one has written more vividly about air combat' THE SUNDAY TIMES) and SPITFIRE ACE by Gordon Olive ('Ever wonder what it was like to fly a Spitfire in the Battle of Britain? No account captures it quite so nerve shreddingly as this new book by a hero who flew 193 sorties' THE DAILY MAIL). He is also the editor of BATTLE OF BRITAIN VOICES ('A valuable contribution' BBC WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE MAGAZINE).

Author: Arthur Donahue DFC
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781539568063
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 106

Get Book Here

Book Description
Tally-Ho! Yankee in a Spitfire is Donahue's vivid account of the first part of his service with the R.A.F., chronicling the years 1940-41.Flight Lieutenant Arthur Gerald "Art" Donahue DFC (29 January 1913 - 11 September 1942) was an American fighter pilot who volunteered to fly for the British Royal Air Force in World War II. He was one of 11 American pilots who flew with RAF Fighter Command between 10 July and 31 October 1940, thereby qualifying for the Battle of Britain clasp to the 1939-45 campaign star. He was killed in action in September 1942.

Author: Arthur Gerald 1913-1942 Donahue
Publisher: Hassell Street Press
ISBN: 9781014276414
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Get Book Here

Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Author: Brian Cull
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 375

Get Book Here

Book Description
10 July, the official first day of the Battle of Britain, witnessed increased aerial activity over the English Channel and along the eastern and southern seaboards of the British coastline. The main assaults by ever-increasing formations of Luftwaffe bombers, escorted by Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters, were initially aimed at British merchant shipping convoys plying their trade of coal and other materials from the north of England to the southern ports. These attacks often met with increasing success although RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes endeavoured to repel the Heinkel He 111s, Dornier Do 17s and Junkers Ju 88s, frequently with ill-afforded loss in pilots and aircraft. Within a month, the English Channel was effectively closed to British shipping. Only a change in the Luftwaffe’s tactics in mid-August, when the main attack changed to the attempted destruction of the RAF’s southern airfields, allowed convoys to resume sneaking through without too greater hindrance.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Aeronautics
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Get Book Here

Book Description
Includes section "Plane reading."

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Libraries
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Get Book Here

Book Description

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 488

Get Book Here

Book Description